E3 2018: Sony

Always the ones to be fashionably late to the party, Sony started their show in a cosy tent with some mood lighting with The Last of Us composer Gustavo Santaolalla having an intimate little concert with him clad in a hoodie and wielding a banjo. Compared to the excessive flash and preening from the other conferences, this took everyone down a peg and made us calm down in anticipation for the slew of announcements and trailers. While the games they showed were strong, many of them seem to be rather far away, but that does not mean that we can’t get excited about them. Let’s see what the blue team had on offer.

The Last of Us Part 2

Ellie is all grown up and The Last of Us Part 2 looks like it’s taking things to a whole other level. The trailer starts off in happier times, in a tent much like the one the crowd are in with Ellie and her “special” friend Nina sharing a dance and ultimately a kiss. It was a sweet, human moment that gave us the impression that this world feels like something worth fighting for. Cut to an action scene where Ellie brutally takes on a bunch of seeming bandits in intense combat. The game looks astounding, which is unsurprising from Naughty Dog and we finally get to see gameplay of the game.

We are left with questions, however. Where is Joel in this whole thing? Why was Ellie attacking these people? Who is Nina? What’s the release date? All of those still remain a mystery.

Call of Duty Black Ops 4

In preparation for Black Ops 4, Sony and Activision have once again teamed up and gave us four exclusive remastered maps that will appear in both Black Ops 3 and 4 if you pre-order the game. They also dropped the news that Black Ops 3 is now completely free to PS Plus subscribers, so if you have a subscription, make sure to jump on that.

Destiny 2 Forsaken

We get a new trailer of Destiny 2‘s upcoming DLC, Forsaken. It shows us a hopeless scene involving Cayde-6 meeting his end. Forsaken might be the reason to get excited about Destiny 2 again.

Ghost of Tsushima

The new game from Sucker Punch might have been the biggest surprise of the show. We got to see some gameplay of an absolutely gorgeous game set in Mongolian times from the perspective of a formidable samurai. The lighting and colour palette is jaw-dropping with some meaty combat to boot. If you weren’t excited for Sucker Punch’s new title, you have to be now.

Control

Remedy made a surprise appearance during the show with their new game, Control. It looks a lot like Quantum Break but with a female protagonist in a sort of futuristic setting and a transforming gun. Not much was revealed about the game itself, but it will officially be the first game in a long time to not be exclusive to Microsoft. It will most likely appear on other platforms, however, and the game has been slated for release in 2019.

Resident Evil 2

Many people have asked for it and it’s now a reality. A full remake of the legendary Resident Evil 2 is coming and it looks like the entire experience has been reworked from the ground up. It’s very reminiscent of Resident Evil 4 with an over-the-shoulder camera view and some modern looking zombie killing. Fans of the series will be thrilled with this announcement and it’s time to give it to the Umbrella Corporation while being terrified once more.

Trover saves the Universe

A little whimsy was injected into the serious line-up so far with a game from Rick & Morty co-creator, Justin Roland. The trailer is rather hilarious, showing us some eccentric-looking characters being electrocuted in a bathtub. Not much else was shown, but the game will be coming to PSVR as well. Expect laughs.

Kingdom Hearts 3

Kingdom Hearts 3 just keeps getting crazier with its Disney properties with the lovable Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Carribean franchise making his appearance. It’s somewhat odd to see the realistic cast with Goofy and the anime-themed central characters, but hey, this is the ride we wanted all these years. We also get some new gameplay, a bit more about the other Disney franchises making their way into the game and we also got the announcement that the PS4 version will include Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 1.8 in a complete package. There’s also a shiny limited edition PS4 Pro console on its way too.

Death Stranding

And now, for the point in the conference where we were all left dumbfounded. The elusive Death Stranding received yet another mind-bending trailer featuring Norman Reedus as Sam as well as some of the other cast. The whole trailer is a trip through madness with women eating water bears, babies in containers, strange show creatures and all manner of confusion. It’s a Hideo Kojima game, so it was to be expected. We also got to see some very small snippets of what looks like gameplay, but it was mainly focused on characters walking around instead of anything truly substantial.

This trailer will be analysed to death, but for now, just embrace the insanity. It’s better that way.

Nioh 2

The sequel to the popular ultra-hard character action game received a small appearance during the conference. We just got to see some CGI footage of the presumed protagonist turning into some kind of beast at the hands of some imposing foes. It’s great that the original game received enough recognition and success to warrant a sequel and it will be interesting to see where the journey takes us next.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is mere months away, with the game releasing on the 7th of September, but that didn’t stop Sony from delivering a crazy gameplay trailer that was full of villians such as Electro, Mr. Negative, Rhino and Vulture, with a surprise mystery guest making an appearance at the end. The game is looking incredible with combat looking as smooth as ever and quick web-slinging action being full-on. It was one hell of a way to conclude the main conference and I think we’re all excited to be slinging around New York in the very near future.

Deracine and PSVR

As a little cherry on top of the conference, we also got some good stuff coming to the PSVR. One of the most interesting titles is a new game from From Software, the developer behind Dark Souls. Departing from their usual formula, this new game seems a lot more artistic and toned down. There isn’t much to be had in the way of information, but just from the developer and the medium, you have to pay attention.

And there you have it. Sony said at the start of the conference that they’re focusing on their current big pillar franchises and told us not to expect any massive surprises. This seems to be their technique in recent years, holding a small conference focusing on their major first-party titles and what their vision is for their games moving forward. We had a lot of games that don’t have release dates, but there’s always PSX and Gamescom to look forward to for more concrete info. What did you think of this year’s line-up? Did it satisfy your cravings?